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Driving a Jaguar F-Type SVR across Europe in 10 days for Rally for Heroes

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Jaguar Land Rover

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Driving for ten days across ten countries to raise funds and awareness for charity is a formidable challenge, and that is exactly what engineering degree apprentice Henry Henshall has achieved for Rally for Heroes.

The soon-to-be
electrical engineer and his co-driver Ben Donaldson took on the 3,000 mile
challenge in a 200mph Jaguar F-Type SVR, as they commemorated the soldiers who
lost their lives during the Afghanistan conflict.

The rally, a
biennial event which saw 110 people in 54 cars taking part, raised more than
£130,000 for the armed forces charity Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families
Association (SSAFA). This year's event was the fifth rally taking the total
amount raised across each rally to more than £525,000.

Henry said: “To
have raised so much money was amazing. The driving was the biggest challenge
because of the number of hours we spent on the road, hence we kept changing
drivers frequently.

“We clocked a
total driving time of more than 70 hours and it was knackering, but the point
of the rally was never to race or win. It was all about trying to bring people
in, get them involved and raise awareness for the charity.”

Talking animatedly
about the adventure, Henry was keen to thank a number of colleagues who helped
support him, with colleagues from across SVO, finance, insurance, marketing and
the armed forces partnership teams all getting involved.

On the day of
departure from Horse Guards Parade, London, Henry found himself sat with a
collection of very special cars. These included several McLarens, Aston Martins
and Mercedes AMGs, but the F-Type SVR was the only Jaguar on the trip, and it
received a huge amount of attention as the rally travelled through France,
Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Austria, Germany
and Luxembourg.

He added: “At each
of the destinations, there was a chance for people to come and see the cars,
drawing more people in to hear about the charity and the fundraising. This is
when you start to realise why you are there, what you are doing and how you are
directly helping people.

“That is why the
Jaguar was the perfect car for the rally. It has such a strong presence which
draws people in the same way as the McLarens and Maseratis. It was definitely a
crowd favourite.”

Along the way the
Rally for Heroes convoy attended numerous events including a remembrance
service with the British Ambassador to Bosnia, Edward Ferguson, and delivering
pre-made gift boxes full of toys and goodies to Los Rosales Center for Children
and Youth with Special Needs in the city of Mostar.

Overall, the experience proved to be an exciting yet humbling one for
Henry, as the visits to SSAFA and Bosnia provided timely reminders of the
devastating effect war can have on people.